Concession
by Nanya
Summary: Co-written with RadiantBeam. Set before "Relationships" and "Family". See just what happened the morning after the drunken party.


Co-written with RadiantBeam.

Disclaimer: We own none of the characters involved.

Note: This is the "day after" the drunken party that got the three together in the first place. I still with that FF. Net would allow me to put three characters instead of just two.

Not as crackish as the first two in this series. That is "Relationships" and "Family", but I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Groaning as the light hit her eyes, Fate had to wonder just why she felt so tired... And damp... And sore all over. She hadn't felt this bad since Nanoha blasted with with her first Starlight Breaker all those years ago. It wasn't too often that she passed out from pain after all.

"Nnnngh... Stupid light..." She heard Nanoha mutter. Okay, at least she wasn't alone, and her head hurt, kinda painfully. Cracking an eye open, she nearly passed out from the light that was blasting her on her face. Groaning, she rolled over and sighed in relief as she felt a body next to hers. At least the light wasn't...

"Wait a second..." She muttered and sat up, her eyes widening, as did the pounding in her head, as she saw a naked Nanoha in bed with her, okay, that wasn't too unusual to see her naked. They showered and bathed together at times, so it was no big deal. A naked Yuuno on the other hand was rather new. Especially since she was naked in bed with both him and Nanoha at the same time. _At least that explains that smell..._ Her mind managed to provide as her brain started to get caught up on the situation.

Naturally, Fate did the most instinctive thing one could think of doing in this situation: she tried to recall what the hell she'd been doing last night. Even as thinking made her head hurt, she ignored the steady pounding to focus on the much larger problem at hand.

All right. Okay. Last night had been a celebration of... something. Something Hayate had done, though Fate couldn't remember what it _was_. Everyone had been there, even the Fowards, and everyone had been teasing Subaru and Teana because they'd finally gotten together and proved Hayate right.

She'd been drinking. Not a lot, but enough to be delightfully tipsy before the night was over. Nanoha had been no better, and while they'd been talking they'd seen Yuuno, quite smashed and trying to find the exit, tripping over his own feet as he did. They'd offered him help, of course, and walked him home...

And then...

And then what?

_Wait..._

Even if some things were clear... The soreness she felt now made a lot more sense. _I, and then he, and then..._ She was pale, very pale. Heck, if someone walked in, they would think that she was either a statue made out of plaster or a ghost. Trembling, the memories came back, unbidden, a torrent of feelings, thoughts, emotions, sensations... _I... had sex with Nanoha... And Yuuno... I had sex... With two of my best friends... _She actually started to feel sick... Or maybe that was because she was trembling?

_I have to leave, I have to get out of here. _She thought desperately. If she got out, then she could go, make last night seem like it never happened and...

"Fate..?" Yuuno's voice stopped her from moving for a moment. "What's going... Ah... Why are we naked and... Oh..." Of course the bookworm would be the one to figure out what happened easier than she did.

"Sorry, I didn't... Excuse me." She mumbled as she tried to get out of bed, which would have been more successful if Yuuno didn't lunge forward and grab her by her hips and pulled her back down onto the bed.

Fate's sudden movement followed by Yuuno's just as sudden grab was enough to stir Nanoha, who had been sleeping like a brick up until this point. She groaned into her pillow for a moment before she slowly lifted her head, blinking groggily, and looked at Fate and Yuuno.

"Yuuno-kun, why are you holding on to Fate-chan so tightly?"

Trust Nanoha to wake up in bed with her two best friends and act like it was the most natural thing in the world; or maybe it was just alcohol and sleepiness talking. Fate honestly couldn't tell.

Hoping to escape an incredibly awkward situation, Fate began to squirm. "No reason, Nanoha," she muttered. "Go back to sleep. I'll be gone in a few minutes."

Nanoha blinked; her eyes slowly cleared, and understanding dawned. Fate could practically see the gears turning in her head as the brunette glanced at Fate, then glanced at Yuuno. "Huh," she said at last. "I thought it was a dream."

"It _was_ a dream." Fate was desperate to escape. "I'm not here right now. I'm leaving. Let go, Yuuno."

Oddly amused by the whole situation, Nanoha dropped her face into her pillow again.

"Fate, please, you can't leave."

"Why not? It's simple, I just find my clothes, get dressed and leave and we can pretend that this didn't happen."

"But it _did_ happen." Yuuno, darn him, didn't raise his voice at all. Probably due to the headache he was feeling as well. "Do you think that you won't think about what happened?" He kept one arm around her mid-section, his other hand went to her upper back, rubbing it, trying to be soothing. "What about Nanoha? And Vivio? Don't you think that it would be quite... Awkward at your house if you didn't at least talk to her about it?"

"What about you?" She asked after calming down slightly. "Don't you have something to say about what we did?"

Nanoha lifted her face from the pillow again, studying the pair with calm blue eyes, before shrugging. "I'm glad it happened with people I know and not complete strangers," she said simply. "If I know you, it's easier to talk to you about it."

Fate wilted at that. Somehow, she'd been hoping Nanoha would be just as freaked out as she was. "It happened, end of story," the blonde said. "There, we talked about it. Yuuno, let go."

Yuuno frowned and instead of letting go tightened his hold, pulling Fate closer and making her squeak. Nanoha smirked.

"Why do you want to run?" Yuuno asked her softly.

Fate's face was bright red as she tried to squirm away from Yuuno. "B...Because this shouldn't have happened." She blurted out, tears starting to fall down her face. "Because I know that you're more attracted to Nanoha than me, because... Because I'm... I'm not... Not someone that..." She stumbled over her words, not sure what she was trying to say anymore.

"Fate?" Yuuno was worried about her now, something wasn't right here. "Calm down."

"It's not supposed to be this way..." Fate had her eyes closed, tears falling down as she let her emotions run free. "I took all those deep space missions so that you two could raise Vivio together and see that you two didn't need me and that I could just slip away quietly."

Nanoha frowned softly, what was Fate talking about?

"Hey, hey." Concern overrode sleepiness and any hangover she had; Nanoha sat up and leaned closer to Fate, gently brushing away her tears. "I don't know what idea you've been carrying around, Fate-chan, but talk to us. Please?" She smiled slightly. "We're all together right now. It's the best time."

"There's nothing to talk about." For all the tears Nanoha wiped away, more seemed to fall. "I messed up. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Now Yuuno was the one who frowned as it hit him; the reason Fate seemed so upset. "Fate... don't tell me you've spent so much time away because you thought you were getting between me and Nanoha."

Fate simply shook her head and sobbed.

After several minutes of crying, Fate finally calmed down, her eyes blood-shot and her face red. "I... I'm sorry... Just... Just let me..."

"Fate-chan..." Nanoha frowned softly as she looked at her best friend. There was real anguish on her face, not just sadness or a moment of getting upset over the events of last night.

"If... If I hadn't been in your lives... You two would have gone on and been happy together, I know it..." Fate admitted, her body slumping as she stopped struggling against Yuuno. How the heck was he so strong anyway? "I... I could just... Just leave... You two would never need to see me again..."

"Hold on. Just hold on." Nanoha was struggling to keep up. "What are you talking about, Fate-chan? It's always been the three of us. We've been together since we were kids. Why would that change?"

Since she wasn't struggling anymore, Yuuno took a risk and slowly drew Fate into his arms, giving her a comforting squeeze. "She's right, you know," he murmured. "We've been together from the very beginning. It wouldn't feel right without you, Fate."

Yuuno was surprised as Fate twisted in his grasp, turning and hugged him tightly, mashing her chest against his body, and buried her face into his chest. "It... shouldn't... Be like this..." She murmured softly, causing Yuuno and Nanoha to blink at each other in confusion. "I shouldn't... I shouldn't have gotten in your way..."

"Gotten in our way... Fate-chan?"

"I... I don't know anymore..." She admitted, but she wasn't letting go.

Yuuno frowned, something was up, what... _Wait a minute..._ Something came to his mind. "Fate... Did... Have you been getting pressure from certain people?" Feeling her stiffen, he sighed. "Thought so..."

"Yuuno-kun?"

He looked at Nanoha. "It... It's not something that I like to talk about, but... Several of the higher ups in the TSA put pressure on some of the strongest mages to have children... And, well..."

"Two women can't have children together." She finished, frowning softly.

"I... wasn't supposed to tell..." Fate murmured softly.

"How did you know, Yuuno-kun?"

"Chrono was having a fit about it." And since it was one of the few times the dark-haired man had truly lost his temper, Yuuno had paid attention. "He dumped it all on me when he came by to the Infinite Library for some information. Said Lindy and Amy were pretty mad about it, too."

"But what does that have to do with..." It clicked to Nanoha a moment later. _"Oh..."_

"Yeah." Gently, Yuuno stroked Fate's hair. "You and Fate have been living with Vivio and driving the superiors crazy. They started putting some pressure on the males in the TSAB, and I thought it'd be a good time to slip away."

Fate stiffened in shock, her eyes widening; blinking, she looked up at Yuuno. "You were going to leave?"

"I wasn't going to force either of you into something you didn't want, even if my superiors ordered it." Yuuno smiled tiredly. "If I was gone, they'd lose their best chance of getting kids from you and leave you both alone."

Now even Nanoha was staring at him. "Yuuno-kun..."

"But... why?" Fate couldn't resist asking. "You... and Nanoha..."

He sighed and rubbed Fate's back, trying to get her to relax some more. "I won't lie..." He shook his head and looked at Nanoha, who smiled at him lightly. "I've wanted her, but, she seemed so happy with you that I didn't want to get in-between you two."

"Yuuno-kun..." Nanoha frowned softly. "Fate-chan... You two... Did you two both think I would be happier if you two left me alone?"

Yuuno smiled slightly. "I'm not done yet, Nanoha."

Nanoha blinked, but otherwise fell silent. Yuuno paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and braced himself for the reactions he was sure to get from this.

"I care for Nanoha. I love her. That's never changed." He took another deep breath. "But somewhere along the line, I... changed. I didn't fall _out_ of love with Nanoha, but somehow I... fell in love with someone else. I loved them both, and I loved them equally."

Fate stilled and turned her head to look at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Yuu...no?" Her voice was strained and slightly hopeful.

"I didn't tell you, at first, I... I felt kind of dirty..."

"Yuuno-kun..." Nanoha hugged him and Fate softly. "I... You two... Why do you two keep so much from me?" She couldn't understand it, they always kept so much from her, it was starting to really bother her.

Fate sighed and leaned in to Nanoha's embrace. "Because you always worry about others," she mumbled. "More than you worry about yourself."

"What she said." Yuuno nodded, willing to hold off his confession for a moment. "You never think about yourself, Nanoha. We tend to not tell you things because we don't want to worry you."

"I... I never want to bother people with my own problems..." She said softly. "Had to grow up alone... Everyone had to work hard, I just couldn't..."

Yuuno and Fate both winced, they had forgotten that Nanoha had suffered serious neglect as a child. Twisting a bit, the two pulled her into a three-way hug.

"Sorry," Fate whispered. "I tend to forget sometimes. You're so strong, Nanoha... I'm always afraid you might break one day."

"Yeah." Yuuno switched from rubbing Fate's back to rubbing Nanoha's back. "It's part of the downside of having people love you."

Nanoha chuckled softly. "We're quite the trio, aren't we?" Seeing the two smile at her, the brunette couldn't help but smile back lightly. "Fate-chan... Yuuno-kun... Could we... Please... Give this a chance?"

Fate blinked. "What?"

Nanoha giggled. "Well, if I remember correctly, Yuuno-kun was about to confess something that's been bothering him for awhile..."

Yuuno blushed. "Nanoha," he muttered.

"What? I'm curious." Smirking, Nanoha gently traced Yuubo's bare chest with her fingers. "You said you loved me, but you also loved someone else equally. Who is that someone else?"

Yuuno gulped.

"Well, uh..." Seeing Fate look at him he took a deep breath. "Fate..."

"Yes?"

"It's you... I... I fell in love with both of you... I never told but... I was ashamed of myself..." He admitted, his face flush.

Fate blushed at that; her face was red enough to rival Yuuno's.

Nanoha, on the other hand, couldn't stop smirking. "Oh, Yuuno-kun," she sighed, resting her cheek against his chest. "Actually, I kind of figured that out..."

Yuuno blinked. "You did?"

"I saw the way you looked at her." Nanoha's smirk softened into a smile. "You'd follow her with your eyes like you always did with me, and the emotion in them... it took me awhile to realize what you were feeling, though."

"When did you..."

"Not too long ago, actually, nyahahaha..." Nanoha laughed, her eyes closed and a hand behind her head in embarrassment. "I'm not too good when it comes to reading people at times."

"Other than in battle..." Yuuno muttered with a sweat-drop on his head.

"Or if someone's in pain..." Fate added with a small smile.

"Yeah..." A funny grin came to Nanoha's face which caused both Yuuno and Fate to gulp slightly. "Yuuno-kun... Fate-chan... I don't recall last night very well..."

The looks on their faces and the resulting squeals of surprise as she pinned them to the bed was so worth it, in Nanoha's opinion. The three eventually lost themselves to sensations, emotions and feelings, ignoring everything else around them.

It probably helped that both Raising Heart and Bardiche blocked all communication into the room so the three could enjoy themselves more.

* * *

Aren't politics _fun_?


End file.
